The rear cargo area of many vehicles may provide a large volume of space that is used to haul luggage, groceries, sporting equipment, and the like. While a large volume of space is advantageous with some types of cargo, more effective space utilization could be achieved by compartmentalizing the available space. Space below the load floor of the vehicle is generally not usable for day-to-day storage. The sub-cargo floor storage of a spare tire and jack is known, however, the cargo floor covering the spare tire and jack is not typically designed for easy removal. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a vehicle storage system that may accommodate a spare tire and/or jack.
The storage space in the rear of vehicles is often difficult to fully utilize. The large volume of space above the floor of the storage space is difficult to access making it inconvenient to store and retrieve objects. Much of the space above the load floor is not useable unless the objects stored are stacked on other objects. In addition, the large cargo area is usually not well suited for storing smaller objects, which may readily move and shift during vehicle operation. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide one or more compartmentalized storage area(s) as part of a vehicle storage system.
Vehicle heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems have conventionally included controls and vents located in or around the front vehicle dashboard. However, as is common in vehicles having conventional HVAC systems, there may be a significant difference in temperature between the front portion and the rear portion of the passenger compartment, especially on days with extreme conditions (e.g., hot, sunny days, and cold days). For vehicles with all of the HVAC vents at the front of the vehicle, uncomfortable temperature conditions for passengers in the rear portion of the vehicle usually arise. Alternatively, if an effort is made to make the rear passengers comfortable, the front passengers may become over-heated or over-cooled.
Accordingly, HVAC controls and vents in a rear portion of the passenger compartment, which are in addition to the conventional HVAC controls and vents provided at the front portion of the passenger compartment, have been developed. Such systems may include parallel front and rear HVAC systems each with, for example, heater core, a compressor, an evaporator, dampers, and a blower fan. Some components may be shared between the HVAC systems, such as the compressor for supplying refrigerant to both the front and rear evaporators. Nevertheless, incorporating virtually two complete HVAC systems for a single vehicle is costly. As such, it would be desirable to provide a strategy for efficiently heating and cooling a vehicle rear portion without the need for a second HVAC system.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a vehicle storage and ventilation system that overcomes the aforementioned and other disadvantages.